Oh brother! where art thou?
by ChieMatsuo
Summary: SEQUEL to "The tale of the two brothers" naruto has left konoha to train with jiraiya, to become stronger. On his around-the-world adventure, naruto reminiscences now and again, about the childhood friendship he shared with the uchiha heir


**Oh brother where art thou? By Chie Matsuo**

Plot: Naruto has left the hidden leaf village with jiraiya to travel the world in order to train to improve on his abilities. When he returns back to konoha he knows that he needs to be physically prepared to find and bring sasuke back to konoha.

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1<span>**

"So pervy sage where are we going first?" asked naruto "And don't say to do some research".

"Well come on we're going around the world I have to continue with my books at some stage" said jiraiya his eyebrows knotting in frustration.

"NO WAY! You're going to be serious pervy sage otherwise I'll train alone!" cried naruto slamming the big rucksack on his back down on the ground.

"Okay chill out, first we're going to go the waterfall country" Jiraiya replied

"And what new techniques will I be learning?" asked naruto enthusiastically.

"Techniques to improve your chakra control, techniques to increase your strength and stamina and also techniques to improve your rasengan" explained jiraiya matter-of-factly.

"But I've already learnt the rasengan, what the hell are you playing at pervy sage?" cried naruto.

"There are always techniques to improve upon techniques, this way you can have multiple trump cards at your disposal" explained jiraiya.

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><p>They made their way to the waterfall country and when they arrived at the cave that led into the village, jiraiya stopped and inspected the cave.<p>

"This is it I guess, although I'm not really sure, the last time I visited it was when I was a kid" said jiraiya to himself rather than naruto.

"This is what?" asked naruto mystified*.

"Oh I forgot you haven't been here before have you? Well to get access into the village you have to swim underwater to the end of the tunnel" explained jiraiya.

"Swim, but how bloody long is this tunnel?" asked naruto going pale.

"Not too long, come on" said jiraiya and they both went inside the cave. It was not really a long cave because they soon came across a deep looking pool of water that seemed to be the indication that this was the main entrance to something.

"Okay you ready? Ready, set and go!" cried jiraiya and dived into the pool.

"WHAT! hold on you old perv" roared naruto and he followed his teacher into the unusually warm water, it was very warm and completely emerged them, naruto was able to see the tunnel because the way ahead was alight with green light, he and jiraiya both swam confidently through the tunnel and emerged just when naruto was about to run out of breathe to the surface again.

They came out on a piece of land where there was a massive tree that overshadowed the village ahead; there was a bridge that led off the small island they were on, into a massive village that seemed to encircle around the massive tree. In the distance, beyond the village, they could only see a massive forest.

"Don't they worry about who comes into their village?" asked naruto.

"They have chakra sensory ninja watching over the tunnel we came in, the current leader knows I wish to stay here for a while so that is way we haven't been stopped" replied jiraiya.

"Oh" said naruto, slowly understanding.

They arrived in the village (after crossing the bridge) and jiraiya started to dig into his small bag to extract something.

"There is nothing better than being in a new village in another nation" said jiraiya.

"When am I going to start training then?" asked naruto.

"In a few minutes, I just have to present my identification, and yours, to the leader" said jiraiya patting naruto's head "Remember there are always laws to be adhered to whenever we go to a different country".

"Fine, hurry up and get back ok" shouted naruto after his teacher.

"Grab something to eat, I doubt they have ramen but you can always ask" said jiraiya holding up a hand as he walked away from his student.

"Actually, I think I packed some ramen in my bag, let's find somewhere to eat this" said naruto looking left and right trying to find somewhere to sit down. He was unaware that a strange urchin like boy with dull red shaggy hair, green narrowed eyes, and who wore a white open necked shirt and ripped black trousers was watching him discreetly, leaning nonchalantly from a alleyway in between two stores, he was chewing on a tooth pick, his green eyes were drawn immediately to the whirlpool emblem on naruto's orange jacket, and his eyes opened slightly in awe then narrowed.

Naruto had finally found a place to eat his ramen in peace; it was a small eating place that seemed to be the only restaurant in the village. As naruto was slurping away on his ramen, a bunch of what looked like the village's police started sprinting down the street looking slightly alarmed. Naruto, his mouth full of ramen turned around, put his hands in the air and cried.

"I'VE GOT ID!"

"It's not you kid, it's that wretched Masuyo kid causing trouble again" said an old man.

"What masuyo, oh that's cool then" said naruto totally relieved, he went back to slurping on his ramen while chaos ensued around him.

"You done yet kid?" asked jiraiya who appeared half an hour later; he then looked at the smoke that had appeared in the distance "You didn't start that did you?"

"WHAT! No way, I don't do those things anymore, I'm here to train to bring sasuke back home, not to become a pyromaniac" said naruto, his arms folded looking irritated.

"That's good, let's head off to the forest then" replied jiraiya. They both set off, the same boy with the red hair followed close behind them, jiraiya immediately sensed his presence he didn't do anything.

They arrived in the dark, quiet forests, which surrounded the waterfall village.

"Now kid time to learn to perfect that rasengan, I want you to use your chakra to make the rasengan larger, like this" explained jiraiya, he held out his palm, suddenly a blue ball gathered on his palm.

"This technique is really advanced, if you can master this, you can destroy multiple opponents all in one go" said jiraiya "At the moment your rasengan is like this, now watch carefully".

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw that the rasengan began to grow in jiraiya's palm. Jiraiya told naruto to stand back, naruto stepped back and jiraiya threw the rasengan into a nearby tree, the rasengan went zooming straight through five trees before vanishing, the results were big tire like tracks and a big massive gap in the forest.

"Now continue to practice it and as soon as you're done, I'll show you something different" said jiraiya then he turned around and headed off in the direction of the village.

Naruto was taken aback that he would leave him alone in a new country but naruto remembered what the pervy sage that told him about independence and got straight to work.

The technique was no way easier than the original rasengan, naruto's rasengan would either revert back to its original size or cut out entirely, the results being naruto would collapse from exhaustion. He insisted on camping out in the forest if need be, if he felt he had not achieved enough in the day. Jiraiya soon learnt not to argue with the blonde when he was, as determined as this.

He would simply nod and head back the way he had come. Two days passed and naruto was pleased to see that he had at one time managed to hold onto what seemed to be a bigger version of his rasengan, but it had cut out and he again collapsed in exhaustion.

The next day when he awoke he continued as normal with his routine. Get up, eat ramen and then go straight into training. The ate his ramen on the forest floor, as he was half way through his ramen cup however he felt as if he was being watched. He looked around, it was the second time he had felt someone's eyes on him, thinking it was a bandit naruto stood up, wiped his mouth and cried.

"You can stop hiding already, I KNOW your there!"

There was silence until a raucous laugh rang out from the tree behind naruto. Naruto turned around and shouted "Who are you?"

Suddenly the dirt clad boy with shaggy red hair, green eyes, and the white shirt and black trousers came jumping out of the tree and landed on the ground in front of naruto.

"My name is Masuyo, what's yours ninja boy?" asked Masuyo.

"What did you? – my name is naruto" replied naruto.

"Naruto what?" asked Masuyo as if naruto was an idiot.

"Naruto uzumaki, future hokage of konoha!" cried naruto, Masuyo's eyes went wide in what appeared to be recognition and then he looked down at the ground.

"Uzumaki huh, and you seriously want to be hokage? What is that? Like a feudal lord" asked Masuyo.

"It's the most powerful ninja in the leaf village" replied naruto "Your that guy that caused that fire in the village right?"

"Yes" said Masuyo proudly "You can call me Masu the urchin kid, or just masu!" Masuyo extended his hand for naruto to shake.

"Sorry I don't respect people who don't respect their home village" said naruto and he turned his back on masuyo "What do you want already? I need to get back to training".

"Don't you ever take a break? I mean, I know you want to be hokage, but even hokages have a break at times" sneered masuyo.

"I can't afford to take a break, I need to train hard and become strong" said naruto as he started to try to concentrate on gathering chakra to the palm of his hand.

"To do what? To sit in an office all day and sort through papers?" asked masuyo.

"Not just that, I need to bring back my best friend, my brother" whispered naruto.

"Where did he go then?" asked Masuyo.

"He was taken away, brainwashed by someone called orochimaru, I guess you haven't heard of him" said naruto through gritted teeth trying to suppress his anger.

"Isn't it the one that looks like a snake?" asked masuyo.

"Yeah I guess you do know him then" said naruto.

"Well I'm going to go burn down another house then" said masuyo "You wanna join?"

"Is that a civilian house?" asked naruto looking furiously at masuyo.

"No it's just an old ruin" said masuyo.

"Why do you do that?" asked naruto stopping and turning to face masuyo "Burn things down, and cause trouble, i know I've been away from the village but I still can hear things"

The smile that had been plastered on masuyo's triangle like, slightly feminine face vanished and masuyo became more serious.

"The village has always shunned me for a long time, they say I'm from a demon family even though I've hardly known my mother or my father, they died when I was a baby, I was raised by an old man who brought me here as his son" explained masuyo

"That's tough, I understand, nobody in my village likes me, well they've started to now but before they didn't" said naruto.

"What did you do to get them to like you?" asked masuyo curiously.

"I was like you, believe it or not, I caused destruction so that everyone would notice me, but then I had a dream to work towards, I wanted to become the hokage, so that everyone recognised me for the right reasons" said naruto reminiscently.

Masuyo's face screwed up in confusion "So hold on a minute, you want to help the people that were mean to you?"

"Exactly" said naruto.

"That is the weakest thing I have ever heard" sneered masuyo "You're a pussy".

"WHAT?" growled naruto; raising his fists in anger.

"You heard me" laughed Masuyo.

Naruto went to attack him but surprisingly masuyo was already sprinting back to the village through the trees.

"You little!" spluttered naruto; struggling to find the words to express his anger.

He decided to calm down and get back to his training; he wouldn't let a little street urchin get to him.

"PERVY SAGEEE!" screamed naruto sprinting into a ladies' club exactly 5 days later, jiraiya, who had been entertaining a group of ladies with his witty jokes widened his eyes in fear when naruto suddenly appeared jumping up and down shouting "pervy sage, pervy sage, pervy sage!".

"Naruto! Keep it down for goodness' sake!" hissed jiraiya but the ladies had heard him and had immediately left jiraiya alone.

"Huh, are you coming to see how well I've done pervy sage?" asked naruto.

"I hope one day you hit puberty, and fast" whispered jiraiya as he stood up and followed naruto to the forests that surrounded the waterfall village.

Naruto resumed the stance he had taken in his training, he created a shadow clone to assist him and the blue ball of chakra which was his original rasengan appeared on his palm.

"That's good but you've got to make it bigger kid" said Jiraiya.

"Just wait and see pervy sage, I'm not done yet!" cried naruto, in a blink of an eye, the ball in naruto's hand grew larger and larger. In the trees above them Masuyo (who had amusingly watched naruto, as he struggled to perfect his rasengan in the past few days) watched totally gobsmacked as naruto sent the ball of chakra on his palm (that resembled a football) into a tree near to him, the ball blasted through 10 trees leaving skid marks behind. Masuyo had to hold on to the tree for dire life or risk falling off.

"No way, that little shrimp was able to perform such a powerful technique" thought masuyo; he had a flashback in which he heard, again, naruto's dream to become hokage "Can he really become the hokage?"

"Very good kid, very good, now I guess you want a break now" said jiraiya cheerfully.

"What? No, I told you I want to learn as many techniques as possible pervy sage!" cried naruto looking angrily at his sensei.

"You should really have a break you know" began jiraiya.

"DO YOU THINK SASUKE IS HAVING A BREAK? DO YOU THINK OROCHIMARU IS, NO THEY ARE NOT, TEACH ME THE SECOND TECHNIQUE ALREADY!" roared naruto, eyes flashing red; jiraiya saw the shadow of the beast inside naruto in that split second and sighed.

"You really need a girl naruto, okay then" said jiraiya rising his hands in surrender "Okay the second technique is simple, try and create a technique with your shadow clones, it can be ninjutsu style or taijutsu style, make one up, and come back to me when you are done".

"What? – how on earth is that helping me to become stronger?" asked naruto.

"It teaches you to be more creative okay, don't argue with me on this one" said Jiraiya yawning and standing up ready to leave "I'm going to have a nap in our lodging place".

"Asif, you're going to do your peeking (cough) research" whispered naruto.

"What was that naruto?" asked jiraiya coldly.

"Err nothing, okay I'll have this done by tomorrow evening, tops" said naruto and sat down to think about what he should do.

After an hour in which all he had done was to play football with his shadow clones, his stomach began to growl.

"Oops someone sounds hungry" said a familiar voice. Naruto looked up and saw masuyo jumping down from the tree.

"Listen mazuko or whatever your name is, I'm not interested in anything you have to say" snarled naruto.

"Not even that I have food?" asked masuyo.

"I don't eat out of rubbish bins" said naruto.

"Not a rubbish bin, my pops is making me something" replied masuyo smirking a little at naruto's cheek.

"Your pops" said naruto.

"You must be the young man my son has taken a fancy to" said an old man with a bald hair with white hair sticking out at the sides, he wore an old tunic and hunch over slightly from old age "My name is Kenji, welcome to my home, you are most welcome here".

"Nice to meet you grandpa" replied naruto rubbing his hair shyly.

"Naruto" said Masuyo sternly.

"Calm yourself Masuyo, I am quite old" Kenji replied "Come in naruto, come in"

Naruto was allowed inside a small cabin, there was a room at the back of the cabin behind a wooden door, and the living area had a small table, a cooker to the side and a single light bulb that lit up the whole cabin. Naruto looked around the cabin feeling slightly cautious but happy that someone had invited them to their home.

Kenji placed a bowl of something in front of naruto when it had finished cooking.

"RAMEN! Thanks old man, this is my favourite!" cried naruto picking up his chopsticks immediately, as soon as he saw the familiar broth.

"My son told me you liked ramen, it was the only thing he saw you eating in the forest" said kenji as he sat down slowly at the table.

"Hold on, you've been watching me?" asked naruto suspiciously looking at masuyo.

"I'm sorry, I saw you master that really powerful technique and I wanted to apologise for calling you a pussy yesterday" explained masuyo "You must be a very respected and powerful ninja in your village".

"Not really, I'm just a genin" said naruto.

"Aren't genins powerful? I thought all ninjas were, I've always wanted to become a ninja, but pops would never let me become one" said masuyo.

"Oh? Why's that?" asked naruto while he slurped up his noodles.

"Ninjas create war and suffering, I am a pacifist by nature and I want masuyo to grow up to become the same" answered kenji.

"In other words pops is scared I'll die" said masuyo.

"Do your parents approve of you being a ninja?" asked kenji.

"My parents are dead, but they were both ninjas so I think they are proud of me" said naruto smiling brightly at the old man.

"So can I become a ninja now?" asked masuyo.

"I suppose you can, when you can follow rules" said kenji "I could smell the smoke from here"

"Ninjas always have to follow orders, I have a sensei and when I'm on missions I can't mess around" explained naruto.

"I really want to become one of the ANBU" said masuyo resting back on his hands and looking at the ceiling dreamily.

"The ANBU, well you have to become a genin first" said naruto pointing to his headband protector.

"How long does it take to go through the ranks to become hokage?" asked masuyo.

"It can take years, centuries, the hokage isn't just any ninja, he's the best of the best, respected by all the villagers of the leaf" said naruto seriously.

"huh I can forget becoming the hokage then" whispered masuyo.

"To earn respect you must respect your homeland and the people in it first" said naruto "Stop destroying stuff, grow up, and then one day, maybe it will be easier to become accepted by everyone"

Masuyo narrowed his eyes at naruto's rebuking words but became silent and stared at the ground feeling guilty.

"Naruto thank heavens you found my son, you have gotten him to shut up at last!" laughed kenji breaking the silence immediately. Masuyo got up and left the cabin frustratingly. Naruto watched him go then continued to finish his ramen.

"Masuyo said that your clan were treated as outcasts by your village, they call your clan the demon clan, why is that?" asked naruto.

"Outsiders are always accepted with caution naruto" replied kenji "Me and my son are no different".

"Why though?" asked naruto eagerly.

Kenji looked up at the ceiling then, the smile that was plastered on his face wavered slightly as he began to explain "I once was known by a different name, but I had to change it because of the mast persecution that took place ages ago".

"Persecution, what do you mean persecution old man?" asked naruto confused.

"Our clan had a kekkai genkai, that is very powerful, it is still very powerful up to this day, we must forever remain in hiding until our country is restored to what it once was" said kenji.

"Huh" said naruto screwing up his eyes slightly, he was really confused, he was about to ask some more questions when he heard jiraiya calling urgently from outside the cabin. The forests were usually quiet at this time of night so jiraiya's shouting came loud and clear.

"I better go the pervy sage is going to be mad with me" said naruto standing up and slipping his boots back on.

"Pervy sage, you are funny kid" chuckled kenji.

Naruto bade kenji farewell (he didn't see masuyo) and sprinted back towards the forest to see jiraiya.

"Where have you been? I came back looking for you and you had vanished!" cried jiraiya scolding the blonde haired boy.

"I'm sorry pervy sage, I thought I saw a rabbit" said naruto stratching his head sheepishly.

"Well don't do that again, the akatsuki can be active even in a place like this" snapped jiraiya "By the way, we have to leave tomorrow for the lightening country".

"Huh why, I haven't mastered my technique yet!" cried naruto.

"We must keep moving, we can't stay in any village for too long, outsiders are likely to draw a lot of attention especially shinobi" explained jiraiya and with that he turned on his heel and headed back to the accommodation motel.

Naruto felt sad to leave so soon, the waterfall village was nice and peaceful, but he remembered his promise to follow jiraiya's orders without fail and could only follow the pervy sage as instructed.

Who else would help him to become strong enough to bring sasuke back home?

"Father why didn't you tell him the truth?" asked masuyo, he and kenji were sitting near a grand fireplace wrapped up against the cold.

"I just couldn't masuyo" replied kenji, he looked down at a chest that rested in his lap, he opened it, there were photos of a group of ninja, each possessing clothes that bore a emblem of a whirlpool on it "He doesn't belong here, but in the shinobi world".

"But he is the only family we have left!" cried masuyo, angrily standing up "He is my cousin".

"Exactly, he is the only uzumaki left to make a difference, not only in konoha but probably in this world, he has the nine tails after all" said kenji "Kushina was smart to place it inside him from birth, I can feel how well the boy's chakra is connected to the beast's"

"I sense danger in the air, dark forces threaten our world and maybe this boy is the only one that has the ability to pull us out of it" whispered kenji after a while.

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><p>(Orochimaru's lair)<p>

A hand knocked on a wooden door.

"Come in" said a raspy serpent's hiss.

The door opened and in a massive dark room kabuto appeared at the threshold with sasuke beside him.

"At last you have arrived" said orochimaru looking hungrily at the uchiha heir.

"Yeah I have, now hurry up and train me orochimaru, I don't have anytime to waste" said sasuke rudely.

"Its orochimaru-sama sasuke" replied kabuto trying to stay calm even though he was annoyed by sasuke's lack of respect for orochimaru.

"Kabuto please, sasuke may call me whatever he wants to, come with me sasuke and I'll give you a tour of the place" said orochimaru chuckling slightly; he stood up gingerly and slowly walked out of the room. Sasuke obediently followed him.

"You said you had the power to bring people back from the dead, are you going to teach me how to do that?" asked sasuke abruptly.

"Patience is a virtue sasuke-kun, you are not yet ready to perform that particular jutsu" replied orochimaru as they walked down a slightly dark corridor.

Sasuke stopped walking, narrowed his eyes suspiciously and asked "Then what do you plan on teaching me?"

"Tut tut, sasuke why all the questions? We'll start you off on something easy and then we will work our way up" said orochimaru "You don't want to kill yourself by going too fast do you?"

Sasuke wanted to argue, and then relaxed "I understand".

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><p>Jiraiya and naruto said goodbye to the hidden waterfall village the next day, as naruto turned to make his way across the bridge however a voice called him back. Naruto turned around and saw masuyo running towards him.<p>

"Masuyo! Hey!" cried naruto waving at the red haired youth.

"Naruto I've decided to stop destroying stuff, I'm tomorrow I'm going to enrol in the ninja academy" said masuyo.

"But what about your father? Will he allow you" asked naruto.

"I think he changed his mind" replied masuyo shrugging "Make sure you come back here, pussy, when you find that friend of yours, then we can really fight".

"WHY YOU!" roared naruto angrily but he heard jiraiya calling him angrily from behind "I was definitely come back here, when I become hokage"

"I'll hold you, to it then" said masuyo smiling.

"I'm naruto uzumaki, I NEVER go back on my words, believe it!" said naruto holding out a fist and with that he turned his back on masuyo and followed jiraiya towards the village exit.

"Goodbye, brother" whispered masuyo.


End file.
